South Tampa's Epicurean Theatre is a self-described "culinary playground." But as anyone recalling the halcyon days of their youth will tell you,the playground is often where we learn the most important lessons.

This certainly rings true for Feeding Tampa Bay's Epic Chef, where our area's top chefs face off in dramatic showdowns. The nonprofit organization uses the spectacle to not only showcase TBAY's increasingly acclaimed food scene, but also to raise awareness about food insecurity, and highlight how we can help.

The ninth annual event takes place over three weeks, with the first showdown on Monday, July 22 already in the books. Chef Guillermo Quezada from Rooster & the Till battled Chef JLW Chau from The Stovall House.

How does it work?

Chefs receive two mystery ingredients which they must incorporate into a single dish in 30 minutes. A panel of judges then rates each dish on taste, creativity, and presentation. The scores are tallied over two rounds, and a winner emerges.

In the first round, the pair were surprised with smoked salmon roe and squid, before tackling a more unusual pairing of pickle juice and bone marrow in round two. Quezada came out victorious, and will advance to the finals on Monday, Aug. 5, where he will take on the yet-to-be-determined winner from the second week.

Quezada prepared a family-style meal in round two — a first in Epic Chef history. | Photo by TBAYtoday

A word from the winner

We sat down with Quezada, and asked him about his win. "It felt amazing," he said. "I was super nervous in the beginning because we were representing not only our restaurants, but ourselves and the work that we put in."

After leaving Florida to train in New York, Quezada brought his talents back to the area and noticed a boom in our food scene. "Absolutely, there's a huge shift. When I left, there were very distinct clusters of great food, like Seminole Heights had just popped off... Now I feel like it's all over the place."

The chef recently hosted his first-ever pop-up, called Better Togther, at Bandit Coffee Co. in St. Pete. A trip to Rooster & the Till also gives a chance to savor his culinary talents. Quezada recommends the Parisian-style gnocchi, or the super crispy Cobia collar.

How can I get involved?

Epic Chef returns to the Epicurean Theatre on Monday, July 29. That's when Chef Ehinar Cruz from The Tides Market will take on Chef Moesha Collymore from Predalina. The winner will face off against Quezada on Monday, Aug. 5.

To attend the events, a pair of tickets costs $400. Admission includes a four-course meal featuring dishes from esteemed local restaurants, wine pairings, and guest speakers. You can also watch at home via local streaming service MOR-TV, or via YouTube.

As always, Feeding Tampa Bay is looking for donations, volunteers, and voices in the community as it seeks to end food insecurity in a 10-county area. Through its efforts last year, the nonprofit gave out 87 million meals, thanks largely to the 162,000 hours logged by volunteers. Get involved.